SandyToes

Exactly!! This is why I no longer watch figure skating competitions. Just fall after fall after fall, people trying to outjump each other. I watch the bakers move their showstoppers from between my fingers - anticipating the fall, the collapse, the disintegration into smithereens. I liked watching the growth of the bakers, who spent a week practicing something they might not have ever done before (I bake cakes and pie crusts, and have used different recipes/techniques, but had no idea what different types there were and their characteristics), and learning. We, as viewers, learned, too, and looked forward to trying new things at home. But I did love the cast this season, and how joyful they all were, and eager to help each other. I knew Syabira was a lock, when the judges said they'd be looking at past performance, too. But that's fine - well-deserved!

Exactly. I think several times this season someone has said, "I never practiced this" before their showstopper/signature. (How can it be your signature bake if you've never made it before?!) In the past, the comments were usually more along the, "I've done it four times and home, and it worked three times" types of things. So this season's group isn't building new skills because so many aren't putting in the work. I do miss when more of them were "home bakers" - like grandmas (or grandsons!) who baked good cakes, good bread, good stuff for their friends and families. And like Ombre said, built new skills along the way.

I also liked that these seemed to be genuine "home baker" tasks. The early seasons' signature bakes seemed to be more or less things they really did do at home, and were probably the kinds of things that got their friends and families to urge the bakers to be on the show. I think that's where Dawn fits - the things she does "at home" are probably really, really good, but maybe not much variety, or detail in appearance this show now goes for. It looked like there was an additional page of instructions besides the "make the pie" page - I thought I caught a glimpse of something. But Dawn not having enough filling was strange. Maybe she went by memory for HER pies, not the different sized tart on the show?

"Linton and Sharik! Rich and Dom! Drop your buffs! We are switching teams!" Good night, nurse. If only... Why can't TAR borrow a few Survivorisms?

Yeppers. Blake's mute button was hilarious. I didn't see the whole show, but was glad some country-ish people went with other judges. I think they stand a better chance sometimes when no one else is "in their lane."

We were too, kind of. If ONLY they had been likeable people! Sometimes you can root for the bad guys if they have some redeeming qualities. That was my one big issue with this series - there were no likeable characters (for me.) Ruth came closest, but even the kids were awful for a while there in the middle. We did like how Marty was always so able to quickly, and calmly, respond to any sudden obscure and often horrible twist in the middle of a conversation. We just found the series the last month or so, so I'm sorry for those of you who invested years in this! Ack! We also half-expected Ruth to shoot Camila. And I think Jonah shooting Wendy is a possibility, too. Doubtful, but just maybe.... The car crash was stupid. And who goes through a crash like that with NO scrapes, cuts, bruises?? Little details like that bug me and take me out of the moment. I'd have probably bailed on the series after the first season or so, but the Spousal Unit is a 'finish what we start" kind of guy, so....

That story was just so heartbreaking. I cannot imagine what it must take to murder two small children that way - and the 2-year old sounds like she was hiding! I found this season's cases frustrating in that so many seemed to end with the DA's office "considering" or evaluating the cases. (And that so many of the ones from the past year or two where arrests WERE made have been paused due to Covid.) I realize that with cold cases there usually is not a lot of hard evidence, and that prosecutors must really mostly on circumstantial evidence. Further, since they want to make sure they can GET a conviction, I know they don't proceed until they feel confident that they will. But it makes for frustrating TV. I like the confession cases!! But I love my hometown girl Kelly, and love listening to her familiar twang. And her passion! Goodness. That we could all be that passionate about our jobs!

And every contestant has a sob story! Argh! Agree with others - what a lovely group of bakers this season. Would have been a fun group to keep around even after elimination (like they did with the covid lockdown group). Just genuinely fun, happy people. I really enjoy competitions shows like this when I'm happy with anyone winning! The Chrystelle dome segment was great television! And they were ALL so into it! Hilarious, nerve-wracking, and touching. Noel is coming into his own as an encourager.

I saw the ads for this, and promptly re-read the book. Then read it again, taking time to analyze the puzzles, the connections, the details of the Masons (my dad and grandpas), and the bits I'd flown over. Really excited last night when I saw it coming on "regular" tv. But sooooo disappointed. I don't know how anyone who didn't read the books has any idea what is happening. It's coming across more as a "based on..." series rather than a film adaptation. I don't know. Will give it another episode or so. Not sure how this can be a multi-season show at this point. Hmmm.... Found this link after I read this time. Great visuals for all the locations, art, artifacts mentioned in the book, and maybe some of the series. Spoilers, if you go all the way through. https://langdonsworld.com/home/thelostsymbol/

The hair dye job was heartbreaking. But I think they made the right call. "She never would have done that" is a common theme among families of drug addicts. And that's probably true! But the drug addict is NOT the same family member (in my opinion), and yes, she may have been under the control the guy, but I didn't see or hear anything that would lead to a belief that she was not involved. Can not imagine the little boy's life after witnessing that, and then the mom who can't let it go. It seemed more than fighting for justice; something else that was now almost like an addiction for her. Very sad all the way around.

Kind of enjoyed watching it for the "travel porn" aspect. Indeed, gorgeous. And the growing respect is one of the highlights. Plus, seeing HIM in such a different role from The Crown is cool. Hoping for more episodes, and soon! I enjoy Shakespeare and Hathaway. I don't have to pay too close attention, the episodes are short (for Brit shows!), and Sebastian is just too cute for words. But not much of a "crime" show! hee.

Off to watch on On Demand! Subway and hair dye. Wow.

New series for me on Britbox - McDonald and Dodds. Funny, smart, endearing. Lead actor played Harold Wilson on the Crown. Second episode had me giggling out loud a couple of times, and nearly tearing up in a later episode. Looks like new episodes coming!

I've been marathoning all day, and this drove me nuts! One ship is COVERED in ice and in danger of capsizing, and two minutes later, another boat is clean as a whistle, sailing smoothly along (but complaining about the ice.) I've watched for a long time, but have missed the last several seasons. Every episode is the same, and I'm not sure what is different about each season. We used to think the Time Bandit would be the most fun to be on, but not any more. I thought maybe Jonathan was offering the kid a chance to just stay on the boat for the comraderie, rather than to work. But when he said, "Or do you want to quit?" it pretty much sounds like he expected him to work injured. (And I don't know why Josh H complains about being short handed. He can't deign to go down and haul pots in a pinch?)

I know, right?! What purpose does it serve, other than to freak us out that she's on the road! I guess she's traveling to each Murdertown..... 🙄

I watched a couple of episodes. What drove me crazy was the "narrator" DRIVING whilst narrating. Huh?! Distracted me! I did like how when they do the written messages on the screen they have a sound to alert me. I'm often "computing" as I watch and usually have to continually back up and see what was written on the screen. So I appreciate that. Like that they tied the "beginning" story to the main story. Good forensics and use of updated technology.

Sometimes I wish they'd do a little more background into WHY these "monsters" do what they do. The early seasons of Criminal Minds used to kind of do that- the profile of the fictional killer, to see what made them do the things they did. Wish we could have a little insight into the minds of the folks on some of these shows. Some of them are just mean and then things get out of hand, but sometimes I really wonder what happened in that person's life to cause him/her to murder children, etc. Might help ease the nagging fear that it could happen to me, or my kids, or my neighbors....

Oh, my gosh! That book! My 4th grade teacher read that to us, and I loved it. (Have read it many times since, and fell in love with art history). And yes, she absolutely DID grow up to be Claudia Jean!

Deep pockets, plus victim mentality. The "Fear My Neighbor" doesn't creep me out nearly as much as the family-oriented ones. The neighbor shows usually leave me wondering why people don't just move. Expensive, I know, property values, dream home, yada yada, I know. But man. Quality of life ought to come into play at some time.

Maybe this is because they grew up with her? Is that the situation here? Kind of hard to tell, as she seems to be about the same age as Siegfried, but if they were children, they will likely always be children to her. Maybe.

Book One, Chapter one, always makes me giggle. The dogs, the car, the "womitting"! I also love that places from this book intersect with Downton Abbey. Thirsk! Kind of a two-fer! (Amazon has a kindle version of the first three ebooks, and you can download a sample. I think it was like 20 chapters!)

Hee! No doubt!! @tennisgurl, if you are a reader, I (and probably most of us) would highly recommend the first two especially, once the series is over. Part of the charm of the books, I think is in the detailed descriptions of the "characters" in the village. And the animals, too, but as mentioned, a lot of stories get tumbled together here, and that's fine. But some are much richer in the books. Example - the horse that was put down - Huge blowout between James and the groomer/trainer, along the lines of "Mr. Hugh 'Longbottom' will be furious you let his prize horse suffer this long! You should have called long ago!", which made the immediacy of the horse being put down make sense. INSTANT end to suffering, as opposed to just a way to solve the problem, or waiting for the owner to return home. In the same story, said trainer shows up at Skeldale house a few days later, looking for work! Seems James was right... So sometimes just richer stories. Some are horrifyingly sad, especially the ones where a farmer's entire small herd has to be slaughtered, or sick pets and their devastated owners. But to me, those stories make the happy ones all the brighter. And Tricki and Dame Diana. Oh, my. I do miss the curmudgeony butler whose job is was to throw rings for Tricki! As has been said a zillion times, casting has been spot on. Even Mrs. Hall is growing on me.

You aren't the only one! I just loved Joe's show. My, my, my. So cool, so droll, and great delivery. Hopefully will be able to sneak peeks at his show at some time.

Honestly, there are a lot of times when this seems to happen, and then these poor souls (usually women) come on these shows and tell their sad/horrific stories, and I want to be sympathetic, I really do. But sometimes I just want to throw a shoe at the TV and scream,"You moron! How could you NOT see this is how things would play out?" Love is blind, truly, sometimes. And some people are so desperate to feel loved, I guess. Very sad. Anyone catch Joe Kenda's new show? I'm not signing up for Discovery Plus, but his show is the only one I'd be interested in. @nokat - LOVE Bill the Cat! I went to school with Steve Dallas and Kitzi. hee. (Oh, and Breathed, too.) Ack!

Me, too. I had always pictured some giant gun cocked on his shoulder. Having it be so small, and up so close to those big, sad eyes made the horror of it even greater. More Tricki!